Posted by Fiona Saiter on Sep.04, 2009

Photo ⓒ Generation Green

What’s the business philosophy of Generation Green, an eco-friendly store in Dublin, Ohio? Co-owner, Heather Johnson said, “triple bottom line: People, Planet, and Profit. We want to bring products that are healthy for our families, healthy for the planet, and healthy for our local economy.”

Husband and wife team Steve and Heather Johnson opened Generation Green in September 2008 because they were frustrated. Products that they needed for every aspect of their lives that were safe for their family and the environment couldn’t be found locally.

Shopping in an Eco-Friendly Store

When you first open the door, you notice a large choice of purses and bags. One was hand woven, made with recycled juice boxes and bamboo, others are sparkly and fancy and some look like they are made of natural fibers. They also carry personal care products of all kinds (shampoo, cosmetics and more), reusable food and drink containers, bamboo utensils, housewares, items for pets, books, toys, baby items, organic clothing, solar chargers, laundry and household cleaners, green gifts and so much more.

You might wonder what would be the best sellers for a green store. Generation Green wanted to be a one stop shop for all things green, fair trade and local. They find that their best sellers are products like reusable drink containers (Kleen Kanteen water bottles made of stainless steel, containers, reusable baggies and more). ChicoBags & Envirosax reusable shopping totes, Ten Thousand Village Items of all kinds, rain barrels and composters are also becoming more popular.

Local and Fair Trade Products

Generation Green supports both Ten Thousand Villages and at least nine local vendors. Ten Thousand Villages works with more than 130 artisan groups in more than 38 countries to bring fair trade to their customers. Ten Thousand Villages is non profit and they market hand crafted fair trade items. Artisans receive a fair price for their hand crafted items and customers receive unique gifts from all over the world.

Environmentally Friendly, Down to the Floor

What else can you expect from Generation Green and perhaps other eco-friendly stores? The owners are people who are truly concerned about the environment and have even thought about the flooring, paint and refurbished display units. They even have two large tree stumps to hold products. The tree stumps came from a large pear tree that blew down in their neighborhood the week that their store opened.

Heather Johnson said they used formaldehyde-free bamboo flooring installed using Greenseal-certified adhesive. Their walls and re-used display cases were painted with non-VOC paint, and they print on recycled paper using both sides. You will even find recycled TP in the restrooms and natural hand soaps; reusable cloths are used with their non-toxic cleaners.

Greening Your Lifestyle: Advice from Generation Green

If people want advice on living a greener lifestyle, Heather suggests not being scared and starting with something small like replacing paper towels with reusable cloth ones. She thinks some people get overwhelmed with all of the changes that need to take place, so they don’t do anything. She also suggests getting involved in some kind of local green group and then you can gain support from others who are already living green. She said they will have a list on their website of local groups.

People can make a difference by shopping locally and supporting their local economy. Buying locally reduces energy in freight, carbon emissions and packaging. She said for every hundred dollars spent in a chain store, only $14 goes back to the local economy, but if you shop locally $45 of every $100 goes back into the local economy.

Generation Green Expands

For the future, Generation Green plans on adding more local vendors, carrying more food and drink containers because they are so popular, DVDs, magazines and a new line of solar and hand cranked items.

What future plans do Heather and Steve Johnson have for the store? They would like to become a part of the community, not just as a green retailer but also making a difference in their local community and would like to be able to get volunteers together and do things such as community clean ups and add more school presentations.

When it comes to Generation Green and other local eco-friendly stores in your area you can expect to find stores that carry items that are from fair trade, local vendors and that the owners help the environment. By purchasing from local eco-friendly stores you can give back to the earth and your local economy.

Generation Green:
http://www.generationgreenstore.com/

Facebook Page with store pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dublin-OH/Generation-Green/72659842845

Share

Posted under Eco-Friendly Ideas, Living.